A DOG owner is puzzled over how an HOA's rules for a residency that she is not part of is blocking her access to a public walkway.
Desiree Slavick from Boulder, Colorado, goes for regular walks with her dog on a path that offers lovely views, but an HOA has declared harsh rules against it.
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Slavick lives in a neighborhood that is nearby, just a few houses away, but separate from the resident association, Daily Camera reported.
Boulder’s Meadow Glen neighborhood has put up signs that walking dogs is banned along with blocked access to the public which the city has allowed.
Meadow Glen Resident Association put up signs with the bans at the beginning of the path.
Residents of the neighborhood will threaten Slavick if she uses the path and claims she is not allowed to use it.
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“People will come out and yell at us, threaten to call the police, (and tell us) we’re not allowed to be there,” Slavick said, Daily Camera reported.
The path was granted public access easement, but the HOA, which owns the path, has decided to take things into its own hands.
The ban on walking dogs has also caused distress for people who are a part of the neighborhood.
A longtime neighborhood resident and member of the resident association, Gary Held, said some people just ignore the dog walking rule.
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“Myself and other dog lovers, we just ignored the signs, even though we do live in the HOA,” Held said, per Daily Camera.
But Held did admit he has been met with the same backlash as Slavick from residents of the neighborhood who are enforcing the rules.
‘I don’t want to move,’ homeowner fumes over HOA rule ‘passed after he moved in’ – it even saves residents $6,000“Several of us, including people who live outside the HOA, have been confronted by people who live inside the HOA who say, ‘Hey, look at the signs. Dogs aren’t allowed in here.'”
Held added a former HOA president was aware the area was supposed to be for public use but decided to go against it anyway.
“The signs (have) remained up because the (former) HOA president … said they would make a good deterrent to anyone who doesn’t know better,” Held said.
Brad Mueller, director of Boulder’s Planning and Development Services department said the issue is complicated and said it's something the HOA needs to address.
Some members and non-members have insisted on getting the city involved but Mueller said it can only act as a mediator.
However, people still argue the city could intervene.
“The heart of it is whether ‘publicly accessible’ means ‘public, with dog in tow,'” Mueller said, Daily Camera reported.
“That’s kind of a debate that remains an open question at some level.”
Residents of an HOA neighborhood sign a contract when they move in that binds them to following rules set by an HOA.
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An HOA can decide on these rules within its own governance.
The U.S. Sun was not able to reach Meadow Glen Resident Association.
